Disaffected Republicans Have Unprecedented Power

 

In the age of Donald Trump, if you are a disaffected Republican you are not alone.  According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who identify as Republican has gone down from 30% in April to 25% in June 2020.  Under Trump, that number has gone as low as 22%.  Furthermore, prominent Republican groups, including a super PAC, have popped to support Joe Biden. George W. Bush and Mitt Romney will not support Trump and Colin Powell is voting for Biden. Former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will be speaking in support of Biden at the Democratic National Convention this summer.  Can anyone remember in their lifetime a revolt of this magnitude within an incumbent president’s own party?

 

It starts with everyday people.

 

Patrick Weld first registered as a Republican at the age of sixteen, inspired by a high school mentor who was also a mayor.  Weld believed in the politics of Reagan, drawn by his call for "free enterprise working along regulations to keep everyone honest and get a fair try."  Weld was a moderate Republican, leaning right on fiscal issues and more left on social issues.  He was generally turned off by Donald Trump's many scandals but still could not bring himself to vote for Hillary Clinton.  He voted third party in 2016.

 

Weld was aghast at Trump's inability to govern, and just as much so by the unwillingness of other Republican leaders to reign him in.  He left the Republican Party.

 

Heather Alvey was a Republican for twenty-three years and volunteered for several Republican campaigns during that time.  She voted for who she liked and did not necessarily vote Republican straight down the ballot, but she was a Republican.  She became a Democrat after Trump was elected - repelled by his "indecency" - and recently knocked on doors for Pete Buttigieg. 

 

Austyn Crites made national news in 2016 when he was attacked by Trump supporters at a rally for holding up a "Republicans Against Trump" sign.  Crites too said he was repelled by Trump's indecency and hubris.  He recently left the Republican Party because it became the de facto Party of Trump.   He believes that Trump does not understand nor value the Constitution, that he does not respect the independence of the separate branches of government, and that he is fiscally irresponsible.  Crites also says Trump does not provide solid leadership for our democracy, refuses to accept responsibility, and constantly drives wedges between Americans.  Trump's former defense secretary, James Mattis, made the latter point in a prominent Op-Ed in which he claimed that Trump constantly divides Americans.

 

Vera and Gabe (82 and 89 respectively), who wanted their last names concealed to speak more freely, were long time Republicans.  Vera first voted Republican when she turned eighteen and Gabe turned Republican in 1980, inspired by Reagan's personality.  But in 2016 Vera left the Republican Party in protest of Trump.  She thought he was dishonest, she didn't like his ideas, and she was turned off by him not releasing his tax returns.  Gabe on the other hand voted for Trump but regretted the decision later. "I liked some of the things he proposed, but it didn’t work out too good.  I thought he was going to shake things up and he did, but not in the right ways", Gabe said.

 

In addition to not liking Trump, these individuals have another thing in common.  They plan to vote for Joe Biden.  Not that they are excited by Biden.  But they see him as a much better option than Trump.  And Gabe at least has one hope: that Biden can bring Republicans and Democrats together.

 

I would argue that there is a need for more than simple hope.  There is a need for advocacy.  Advocating that Biden bring back core American values as a price of their vote, and then, after the election, advocating Republicans to return to traditional American values as a price for getting disaffected Republican votes back.  

 

Many Republicans may be disappointed with their choices, but they are not powerless.  Successful democracies have two unwritten norms: 1) accepting the legitimacy of your opponent and 2) not abusing your power. These norms have slowly eroded in American politics over decades.  Disaffected Republicans have leverage, as they can swing elections.  They should use that power, and we all will surely be better off for it.

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Indian Americans: Donald Trump is Not Your Friend

My fellow Indian Americans, I am here to warn you that Donald Trump is a threat to you, and he is certainly not your friend.  He has put your life at risk in two distinct ways: 1) by mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic, and 2) by fanning racial tensions in the country.  That, combined with his xenophobic immigration policies, makes Joe Biden the clear choice in November.

Trump’s visit to India, the welcome he gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the “Howdy Modi” event, and his ingratiation to the Indian American community has led many Indian Americans to consider voting for Trump in 2020.  However, Indian Americans should be skeptical of Trump’s shallow gestures, which are clearly aimed at their votes and pocketbooks.  Instead, Indian Americans should assess whether Trump has been a positive force in their day-to-day lives.

The most glaring failure of the Trump presidency is the unmitigated spread of the coronavirus across the US.  We have by far the most cases in the world.  We account for about 26% of the worldwide deaths from the coronavirus, despite the fact that the US only has about 4% of the world’s population.  In a matter of months, over 120,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.  That is more than twice as many American deaths during the nineteen year-long Vietnam War.  Let that sink in for a moment.

As with every community in the US, Indian Americans have lost lives and livelihoods. Trump is not responsible for the virus, but his administration’s gross negligence has been at the root of the mass death and economic destruction.  He did not take the virus seriously, and even downplayed it, going so far as to say it would “miraculously” disappear one day.  According to the New York Times, this was despite multiple advisors warning him of the virus’s catastrophic potential.  Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, first briefed him about how serious of an impact the virus could have on January 18.  On January 29, Trump was warned by his trade advisor, Peter Navarro, that the pandemic “could cost the United States trillions of dollars and put millions of Americans at risk of illness or death.”  Yet, Mr. Trump refused to recommend social distancing measures until mid-March and started talking about re-opening the economy well before the virus could have possibly been contained.  Experts have said again and again that more testing is key to controlling the virus.  Despite this, Trump has tried to pass the buck for testing onto states.  Furthermore, at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump said that he directed his administration to slow testing down so the coronavirus numbers would not make him look bad.  His staff tried to claim he was joking, but Trump himself later admitted he was serious. 

The coronavirus is not kind to incompetent governance.  Even a country such as South Korea, which was seen as a model for containing the coronavirus, is now seeing a resurgence.  In the US no one knows what a second wave will look like given that the first wave is still ravaging our country. 

But there is more to fear from the Trump administration than incompetence.  Trump stokes hatred, and that directly impacts Indian Americans.  For example, it was reported that instances of hate violence and xenophobic rhetoric was up by 45% against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Easterner, and Arab communities in the US – in other words against anyone who looks Indian - in just the first year of Trump’s presidency.  Twenty percent of perpetrators invoked Trump in some way.   2018 saw the number of attacks on Sikh Americans triple, and it was also the deadliest year for hate crimes since September 11, 2001.  Indian Americans continue to be a target of this hatred.  A New Mexico man named Baljit Singh found his restaurant vandalized on June 22.  There was graffiti on the wall that said, “White power,” “Trump 2020,” and “go home.”  Trump is so admired by bigots that a Ku Klux Klan newspaper is supporting him in his 2020 re-election campaign.  My friends, I have news for you: you will not be welcome in the America Donald Trump is creating. 

Then there is immigration. As early as 2017 Trump’s administration began dismantling the work-based visa system, “aggressively” denying H1B applications.  Now Trump is using the coronavirus as an excuse to freeze green cards for new immigrants and has suspended H1B visa applications until the end of the year.  Indians make up more than 70% of those on an H1B visa in the United States, so our community would be disproportionately affected.  But this has been in the works from the start of Trump’s administration – him and his supporters on Capitol Hill have continuously advocated for curbing legal immigration.  Biden on the other hand publicly states that he wants to welcome immigrants into the country.  His immigration plan says immigrants are a source of strength.  He has even recruited six Indian Americans to the Biden-Sanders unity task forces.  Who do you think really wants Indian Americans here, Biden or Trump?

Finally, do not be fooled for a moment into thinking Trump is better for US-India relations than a Democrat.  Obama made strengthening economic ties with India a priority. Trump on the other hand put tariffs on Indian goods, and his recent state visit to India failed to produce a trade deal.  The US has indeed sold some arms to India under Trump.  But that pales in comparison to the fact that Biden was Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the US-India civilian nuclear agreement was ratified.

Look at your own self-interest and do not fall for Trump’s show boating.  Rife with disease, unemployment, and hate, is America a better country for you and your children today than it was four years ago under the Obama administration?  Given Trump’s track record, do you really think he deserves another four years in office? 

Progressives Will Win with Biden

Dear progressives… I want to reach out to you as a moderate Democrat.  I am writing today because I need you.  Reports are that many progressives are unenthusiastic about Biden, and perhaps may not vote for him.  Perhaps that is you.  If so, please allow me to tell you something you already know: the country needs you, your voice, and your vote. I genuinely believe the opportunity for the progressive movement has never been greater. 

Since you are a progressive, I do not have to convince you that Donald Trump is bad for the country.  Like me, you are terrified for yourself and your loved ones’ health and safety as the coronavirus ravages through the nation and Trump prioritizes the stock market over the health of citizens.  Like me, you were probably horrified when peaceful protestors were dispersed with tear gas and flash grenades, violating their First Amendment rights.  Undoubtedly you were once again disappointed when Republicans looked away and even pretended to not have seen the whole thing.  You and I have a common disgust for all this.

I have to admit, as a moderate I have not always understood the progressive point of view.  I think there are a lot of moderates who need to better understand the progressive perspective and vice versa.  However, despite our differences, we are on the same team.  We believe that climate change is an existential threat, that health care is a human right, that a college education should be free, that a woman’s right to choose is sacrosanct, that there is racial injustice in the criminal justice system that must be corrected, to name only a few.  We are all concerned about the courts being packed with right wing judges and what could happen to the Supreme Court if Republicans win the White House and Senate again. We largely have the same goals, but we disagree on how to get there.  Medicare for All versus strengthening the Affordable Care Act to get to universal healthcare, for example.

The progressive movement has changed the political debate in this country, and even moderate presidential candidates adopted some progressive policies.  The obvious example is Medicare for All and free college, which of millions of voters support, and which several moderate candidates included in their platforms. 

I worked for the Pete Buttigieg campaign.  One of the policies that drew me in was free college at public colleges and universities for low- and middle-income students—a direct contribution from the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign.  Biden would later adopt this policy.  The obvious conclusion is that the progressive movement holds great sway in the Democratic Party, and that is where, I would argue, you come in.

Progressives can continue to make an impact.  I understand you may not favor Biden, and you may even distrust him.  Perhaps you feel he has let you down in the past.  I understand that, as a moderate, it is much easier for me to be enthusiastic about Biden.  However, I would argue that there is plenty of reason for you to be excited about a Biden presidency, especially if we win both the House and the Senate.

One reason you have to be excited is that Biden has been moving to the left.  Even before becoming the presumptive nominee, he adopted signature proposals from Sanders and Warren. Furthermore, Biden has incorporated prominent Progressives into his leadership team.  Typically, a presumptive nominee moves to the center of the ideological spectrum.  Not Biden.  So, there is great potential for progressive policies to be incorporated into Biden’s agenda.  Progressives can shape the Democratic National Committee platform and influence the narrative.

Also, with Biden at the top of the ticket, down ballot Democrats have a great shot at winning the Senate with the same coalition that won the House in 2018.  Progressive proposals could become law.  And unlike in the past, progressives have a large, powerful caucus in the House, which will undoubtedly hold even a moderate Democratic president to account.  There have even been rumblings out of the campaign that Biden wants more of an FDR style presidency to heal the country after so much tumult, as opposed to his original incrementalism.  You have an opening.

What is more certain is that if Trump and Republicans win again, there will certainly be no advance in progressive policies.  The country will most certainly continue to move backwards on the environment, health care, education, race relations, and so on. 

There is only one choice right now.  A possibility of advancing progressive goals with Biden, and with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.  Or continued degradation of our country. 

Why repeal Obamacare?

On December 9, 2015, the conservative American Enterprise Institute gathered a venerable panel of health policy experts, only to make hollow suggestions on how to repeal Obamacare.  This months old panel discussion is significant because similar proposals have made their way into the American Health Care Act (AHCA), meant to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Rather than repealing the law and replacing it with something 'better' AEI published a report essentially recreating a less generous version of the ACA.  For example, tax credits are offered to consumers to buy health insurance... which is already done through the federally facilitated marketplace.  Innovation is touted, but the same report proposes shutting down the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Center.  The Innovation Center is well regarded across the healthcare industry, and is leading the way in reforming payments (in other words save money) to reward quality rather than quantity of care. 

The authors tout a private market approach, conveniently forgetting that most of the American health insurance market was already dominated by private industry.  This is the same market that withheld health insurance from those with pre-existing conditions, charged women extra for for being women, and did not cover mental illness, the world’s largest disability.  All the while, the authors claim they do not want to go back to what was there before, but do not acknowledge the progress that has been made.  All in all, the authors proposed repealing a law that has provided millions of Americans, including 1 million newly insured in 2015. 

The AHCA is a natural evolution of this kind of thinking.  Rather than acknowledging the progress that has been made and tackling the problems with the ACA, the AHCA seeks to throw baby out with the bath water.  Why? 

No program is perfect.  If the ACA were a state program it would have flaws.  If Obamacare were a private sector program, it would have flaws.  Lets hone in on the flaws, and propose solutions for those.  Co-payments are too high?  That's a specific critique that can be focused on.  So what is the solution?  Is the solution to repeal the law? Or could the law be adjusted and improved? 

Saying that states can regulate a policy of providing all Americans with health care is absurd.  If that is the case, then why weren't states doing this before the ACA?  Why is it that in most states the federal government provides the health insurance through the ACA federal exchange, even though all states had access to grants to start their own insurance exchanges? 

Saying that there should be no minimum standard for health coverage is also a cruel joke. Health insurance is heavily influenced politically.  In Massachusetts a consumer has to be at 230% of the federal poverty line (FPL) to get Medicaid.  In Texas a consumer needs to be at 42% of FPL to get Medicaid.  Why should geographic location within the US determine whether you will get care? 

Congress, and the public policy elite at think tanks and academia, need to target the problems within the ACA.  There is no sense in denying the progress made because the law has Obama’s name on it.  Politician work with political hyperbole for a living.  However, when a think tank like AEI takes an intellectually dishonest approach to the debate and provides credibility to the hyperbole, all Americans are harmed.  Most of AEI’s proposal was already covered by the ACA.  The AHCA has a basic framework similar to the ACA.  It should not be a shame in our culture to own up to such facts.